Just a few blocks away from East LA’s Whittier Boulevard arch — a symbol of Chicano pride — Sounds of Music has served as a cultural hub for decades.
The record store, which has specialized in Chicano soul, oldies and “souldies” since 1964, is now at risk of closing if sales don’t improve.
“I was going to close up in January,” owner Mario Reyes said. “We’re kind of month to month right now.”
Reyes inherited the store from his father, Carlos Reyes, who relocated to East LA from Montebello in 1967. Since then, it has been a destination for fans of soul, R&B, Chicano rap and oldies, offering vinyl records, cassettes, CDs and other merchandise. It’s something that other record stores in Southern California haven’t been able to emulate, Reyes’ wife, Adrianna, said.
“It’s the vibe of our store,” she said. “We’re not like Amoeba Records. They’ll carry the regular Taylor Swift, Tupac, Sade and regular artists but they don’t carry oldies like the way we do.”
Preserving Chicano culture in East LA
Outside the store, a Felix the Cat standee sporting Nike Cortez, a flannel shirt and slacks, invites shoppers to explore East LA culture. Inside, Aztec warrior statuettes sit next to Homies figurines.
Bandanas emblazoned with “East Los” and shirts featuring characters from “Blood In, Blood Out” celebrate local heritage.
An original Silver Dollar Bar sign hangs in one corner, a nod to the building’s history as the site where Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar was killed by a tear gas projectile fired by an LA County sheriff’s deputy during the 1970 Chicano Moratorium. (Sounds of Music moved into the building from across the street in 2018)
A plaque outside and images inside honor his memory.
But for many longtime customers, the music is what kept them returning.
“Since 1993 I’ve been coming to Sounds of Music,” Ricardo “Ziggy” Lona said. “I was into oldies as a teenager in the 90s, and Sounds of Music was one of the only places you could get your Eastside Story, your Art Laboe… your favorite artists.”
Lona, who rode the bus from Commerce as a teenager, said he worries the store may follow the fate of other independent music stores.
“With the internet and music being the way it is, record stores just ain’t making it. Sounds of Music has made it this far from the support of the community. It’s more than just the music, it’s about what’s come out of it,” Lona said.
Building alongside community
To raise funds for the longstanding store, Reyes and Lona recently organized a pop-up on the property. Artists sold custom clothing, vinyl records and other artworks while DJs played funk and oldies to a lively crowd in the parking lot behind the store.
Boyle Heights resident Christina Fernandez said the store holds a special place in her heart.
“My brother’s nina, we called her ‘Guera.’ She’s the one that introduced me to all of this,” Fernandez said. “She brought out all her records when I was little so that’s how I learned about all of the Eastside Story Records and I just fell in love with all of that.”
Fernandez even honors her ‘Guera’ with a forearm tattoo of her name stylized like an Eastside Story album cover.
“It’s just a part of our culture. The familiar sounds bring back memories of people who are no longer here with us and bring us back to that time,” she said.
Economic struggles as ICE raids shake East LA
Like many other Eastside small businesses, the Reyes family was affected by immigration raids.
“People weren’t buying at all because they didn’t want to shop because they were scared to come in,” Adrianna Reyes said. “It really affected our business and brought sales down.”
Reyes added that sales haven’t returned to the pre-raids levels and is afraid they may never return. Mario Reyes had said his father had to loan him cash to keep the store afloat at the start of the year.
To keep the store alive, Reyes urges patrons old and new to stop by.
“You don’t have to buy a lot, just buy something,” he said.
